British police are now equipping patrol cars with Windows 8 tablets

The tablet in question is the Panasonic Toughpad FZ-G1, and the 8.4-inch Windows 8 Pro device can be used on the move or even when docked in the glovebox of the 10 Vauxhall Astra police cars currently on trial.

Depending how successful the trial is, the Hertfordshire Constabulary could expand the program for the tablets to be fitted in 50 police patrol cars at some point in future.

Snapworks by Motion is a touch-based camera app with easy touch features to capture, annotate and share images.

The company has also released a new EasyConnect RFID Long Range Reader that transforms Motion’s rugged tablets into long range UHF RFID tag readers. The Reader is designed to make it easier for workers in such places as an oil rig, rail transportation and warehouse environments to obtain and process critical asset data from a distance.

On the tablet side, Motion Computing released the latest generations of its F5 and C5-series Rugged Tablets. The Motion F5te and C5te feature across-the-board improvements in power, security and manageability with [...]

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September 30, 2013

Acadian Ambulance updates first responders with rugged Motion tablets

Acadian Ambulance, which is headquartered out of Lafayette, Louisiana, announced recently that it is deploying F5t rugged tablet computers from Motion Computing across their fleet for mobile dispatch and electronic patient care recording.

The company’s fleet includes more than 400 ambulances, eight medical transport helicopters and five fixed-wing aircraft. The company and its subsidiaries provide service to a multitude of Louisiana parishes; Jackson County, Mississippi; and parts of Texas. Having a portable patient information system that could stand the rigors of first responders was critical, say Acadian officials.

“When we began looking for an electronic [...]

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July 22, 2013

Iberia Airlines tackles tough conditions with ruggedized tablets

At Terminal 4 in Spain’s Madrid-Barajas Airport, Iberia Airlines crew members can be seen performing their various tasks and safety checks using customized Panasonic Toughpad devices.

Instead of using clipboards or laptops, workers get their assignments and get real-time updates while providing aircraft maintenance; baggage handling including loading and unloading, sorting, and delivery; and refuelling and inspection of ground equipment. Crews use the tablets even while de-icing the planes during the winter months, something off-the-shelf tablets are less likely to endure.

The tablet rollout, which began in May 2013, is part of the company’s overall plan to [...]

While a number of companies offer ruggedized tablets, Xplore’s premium priced Windows tablets have been considered among the most rugged, designed to handle repeated impacts and temperature extremes.

Currently, almost half of Xplore’s business comes from a handful of big customers in the military, telco and other vertical industries. But with RangerX, available starting today, it’s adding its first Android-based tablet and by far the lowest cost member of its lineup.

“We currently serve the ultra-rugged space where there are few competitors,” Jim Plas, Xplore’s VP of marketing, told TabTimes. “And when we started looking at [...]

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May 10, 2013

Earl wants to be the world’s best outdoor survival tablet

But you’ll generally pay a premium for such rugged tablets. Earl? Not so much.

The crowdfunded project says Earl will be available for $249 (a 30% discount) through June 9. A recent check of the website, shows the project has raised $44,992 of its $250,000 goal. So it’s not clear how long buyers will have to wait and there’s always the possibility the whole thing will be scuttled.

Still it’s an interesting project in that it targets a very specific rugged niche. In sum, Earl wants to be the best tablet for extreme outdoor situations, like hiking up a mountain or the remote wilderness.

In addition to rugged casing, Earl has an advanced [...]

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March 4, 2013

U.S. military contracts Xplore for 200 more rugged tablets

The “seven-figure” order is for 200 iX104C5 DMSR-M rugged tablets and these are expected to be rolled out over the next two months. The U.S. military ordered 900 of the same tablet back in December.

The iX104C5 DMSR-M has even be described internally by company officials as the “best tablet for use in military deployments” and features a 10.4-inch display, the Windows 7 operating system (upgradeable to Windows 8), an Intel Core i7 processor (the 620 UE model with Turbo Boost technology) and 4GB of DDR3 memory.

The model is able to withstand a seven-foot drop while operating and also sports a sunlight readable display, which is protected [...]

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December 7, 2012

U.S. military taps Xplore for over 900 rugged tablets

The Austin, Texas-based company, famous for boasting it builds the world’s most rugged tablets, said the order is for over 900 of its iX104C5M rugged Windows tablets. The Windows 7 tablets (upgradeable to Windows 8) will be delivered over the next several months.

A spokesperson for Xplore said the contract limits what it can say about the deal, such as the value of the order and what other vendors bid. Statements by company execs indicate it’s the first (of what it hopes are many) major military contracts.

“We believe the value proposition of our rugged tablet computer should make it the device of choice for military field applications,” said [...]

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February 9, 2012

Motorola Mobility could make rugged tablets for health, education and retail markets

The company already has a range of ruggedized phones for these vertical markets, like the Titanium phone, but has now hinted that it may push ruggedized tablets into these markets in future.

“It’s conceivable we could apply the ‘life-proof’ franchise to tablets over time,” said Wyatt, who added that it is still 'early days' when it comes down to Motorola's work within these markets. “There are tons of interesting things we can do with our existing hardware today.”

Should Motorola Mobility dip into the enterprise market, it could cause fractions with its sister company, Motorola Solutions, which has already developed [...]